The“Psychic Detective”Character: Its Appearance in the British and American Novel

IR Web Site

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • サイキック・ディテクティブの登場 ―英米小説のあるジャンルについて―
  • サイキック ・ ディテクティブ ノ トウジョウ : エイベイ ショウセツ ノ アル ジャンル ニ ツイテ

Search this article

Abstract

Psychic （occult or supernatural） detectives in fiction enjoy considerable popularity among the public readership. The first character of note is said to be “Dr. Martin Hesselius,” appearing in several stories published in 1872 by the Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu, and the growth of the genre initially peaked between the late Victorian period and the 1930s. Academic study of the “Psychic Detective” novels, however, has been given much less attention than Gothic Literature or Horror fiction. This paper analyzes several characteristic aspects of this genre, through a discussion comparing it to Gothic novels, ghost stories, and the greater corpus of mainstream detective fiction.

Journal

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top